Bible Discussion Thread

what dose lot mean in joshua 16

We see the division of the Land of Canaan "by lot" quite often, beginning at Joshua 13:6: "All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon unto Misrephothmaim, and all the Sidonians, them will I drive out from before the children of Israel: only divide thou it by lot unto the Israelites for an inheritance, as I have commanded thee."

We're not told how Joshua made the "division of the land for an inheritance unto the nine tribes, and the half tribe of Manasseh" (v7), whether by a Word from God or by simply dividing up the land & allocating portions to the tribes of Israel (not forgetting that Levi, Manasseh & Ephraim received no allocation). Maybe, the tribes that received their portions had some say as to where they would prefer to settle on the western side of the Jordan River. So to 'divide by lot' in this case, would mean to allocate the land to the various tribes, whether by 'lottery' or specifically according to the tribes' preferences.